A HENNE SAVED
After losing Mahomes, Chiefs hold off Mayfield's Browns
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs had lost Patrick Mahomes to a concussion and were in danger of losing the game.
Then t hei r defense a nd Chad Henne — their defense and Chad Henne?!— kept their hopes of a Super Bowl repeat alive, holding off the Cleveland Browns 22-17 on Sunday to advance to their third straight AFC championship game.
“Hen ne Thing Is Possible ,” a sidelined Mahomes wrote on Twitter immediately after the victory.
With their star quarterback reduced to a spectator, theo ft-forgotten bunch opposite Ma homes' highpowered offense forced the Browns to punt in the waning minutes. Then, his 35-year-old backup showed some moxie with along third-down scramble and audacious fourth-down completion to Tyreek Hill when go- f or- broke Andy Reid decided to go for it that gave the Chiefs a first down with just over a minute left and allowed them to run out the clock.
“That' s why we love Big Red. He' s always on time,” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu said .“He' s like our spirit warrior out here behind the scenes. He' s always trying stuff. We always knew he has one play on the table.”
Mahomes hadn't played in 21 days, since the Chiefs clinched the AFC's top seed in Week 16, but he hardly missed a beat before leaving midway through the third quarter. He finished 21 of 30 for 255 yards and touchdowns passing and running.
Harrison Butker added three field goals for the Chiefs, who nearly blew a 19-3 lead but survived to become the first AFC team to host three consecutive conference title games. They'll face the Buffalo Bills next Sunday.
“It stings,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We came here to win and didn't get the job done. There is a finality to that.”
Baker Mayfield threw for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Browns, who were coming off their first playoff win since the 1994 season. But their inability to drive for the winning touchdown they punted with 4:23 left in the game kept them from winning two playoff games in a season for the first time since 1950.
Mahomes completed 11 of his first 12 passes and led the Chiefs to back-toback touchdowns to start the game. Mahomes ran for the first and let Travis Kelce turn a dump-off into a 20-yard catch for the other, making him the first player since Steve Young in 1995 with three straight playoff games with TDs on the ground and through the air.
In fact, Mahomes was so sharp passing in the first half that he even completed a celebratory heave to a lucky fan in the far reaches of Arrowhead Stadium's upper deck following his touchdown jaunt.